Kulang sa Pansin ang Sun Star Cebu?

In a recent Superbalita article, dated January 31, 2016 and titled “Daghang bayot manguot sa party district sa Mango” (Plenty of Gays Pickpocket at the Party District of Mango), the writer unnecessarily identifies the two pickpockets as “bayot”, a local term for gay. The victim was a Japanese person named Naoki Nemoto.

When reporting about LGBT suspects of crime, it is unnecessary to identify their LGBT status. By identifying the suspects as LGBT, the writer stigmatizes an entire community. We don’t publicize the sexuality of the suspect when they are “straight”. So why point out the sexuality of a gay suspect especially when it is not in anyway relevant to the crime?

The title sensationalizes the article, a cheap move by cheap journalists & news companies in an attempt to draw more readers or viewers. A perfect example? The title of this post. I was going to use “Sun Star Superbalita Stigmatizes Gay Men” which is quite true and telling of this post’s main topic but I decided to give them a taste of their own medicine.

A later article by Sun Star, dated February 1, 2016 and titled “Pickpockets near party area, cops warn” provides further details of the incident on January 31 and narrates a previous incident with another Japanese person, Tatsuro Asakura, whose wallet was stolen by TWO GIRLS. Tatsuro Asakura was the first Japanese victim and Naoki Nemoto was the second Japanese victim in January 2016. So how exactly did the authorities and Sun Star conclude that “daghang bayot manguot sa party district sa Mango”? Are they simply prejudiced?